As the creator of SOJC.org I would like to bring to everyones attention two bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives that would sensor the Internet. As you know SOJC relies heavily on its web presence to promote and engage its current and future congregants. If the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or Protect IP Act (PIPA) pass, then SOJC.org runs the risk of being taken down.

Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won’t be effective at their stated goal (to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won’t have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn’t being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won’t show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

Wikipedia.org

Please read more about SOPA and PIPA from the the only page available (January 18th) on Wikipedia.org

If you would like to ensure that SOJC.org won’t be taken down in the future please get the message out and let your Senators know how you feel.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th.